egroj world: Sam Rivers • The Quest Remastered

Monday, November 20, 2023

Sam Rivers • The Quest Remastered

Biography
Samuel Carthorne Rivers (born September 25, 1923, El Reno, Oklahoma) is a jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, and piano. Rivers was previously thought to have been born in 1930.

Rivers's father was a gospel musician who had sung with the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Silverstone Quartet, exposing Rivers to music from an early age.

Rivers moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1947, where he studied at the Boston Conservatory with Alan Hovhaness. He performed with Quincy Jones, Herb Pomeroy, Tadd Dameron and others.

In 1959 Rivers began performing with 13-year-old drummer Tony Williams, who later went on to have an impressive career. Rivers did a brief stint with Miles Davis's quintet in 1964, partly at Williams's recommendation. This quintet was recorded on a single album, Miles in Tokyo. Unfortunately, Rivers' playing style was too free to be compatible with Davis's music at this point, and he was soon replaced by Wayne Shorter. Rivers was signed by Blue Note Records, for whom he recorded four albums as leader and made several sideman appearances. Among noted sidemen on his own Blue Note Records were Jaki Byard who appears on Fuschia Swing Song, Herbie Hancock and Freddie Hubbard. He appeared on Blue Note recordings of Tony Williams, Andrew Hill and Larry Young.

Rivers's music is rooted in bebop, but he is an adventurous player, adept at free jazz. The first of his Blue Note albums, Fuchsia Swing Song, is widely regarded as a masterpiece of an approach sometimes called "inside-outside". The performer frequently obliterates the explicit harmonic framework ("going outside") but retains a hidden link so as to be able to return to it in a seamless fashion. Rivers brought the conceptual tools of bebop harmony to a new level in this process, united at all times with the ability to "tell a story" which Lester Young had laid down as a benchmark for the jazz improviser.

His powers as a composer were also in evidence in this period: the ballad "Beatrice" from Fuchsia Swing Song has become an important standard, particularly for tenor saxophonists. It is analysed in detail in The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine who notes how each of its four eight- bar elements has a distinct emotional identity.

During the 1970s, Rivers and his wife, Bea, ran a noted jazz performance loft called Studio Rivbea in New York City's NoHo district. He continued to record for a variety of labels, including two albums for Impulse! (Trio Live and his first big- band disc, Crystals); perhaps his best-known work from this period, though, is his sideman appearance on Dave Holland's Conference of the Birds, in the company of Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul.

Rivers currently lives near Orlando, Florida. He performs regularly with his trio (with Anthony Cole and Doug Matthews). In 1998 he recorded two big-band albums for RCA Victor with the RivBea All-Star Orchestra, Culmination and Inspiration (the title-track is an elaborate reworking of Dizzy Gillespie's "Tanga": Rivers was in Gillespie's band near the end of the trumpeter's life). Other recent albums of note include Portrait, a solo recording for FMP, and Vista, a trio with drummers Adam Rudolph and Harris Eisenstadt for Meta.

In 2006, he released Aurora, a third CD featuring compositions for his Rivbea Orchestra and the first CD featuring members of his working orchestra in Orlando.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/sam-rivers/

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Biografía
Samuel Carthorne Rivers (nacido el 25 de septiembre de 1923 en El Reno, Oklahoma) es un músico y compositor de jazz. Toca el saxofón soprano y el tenor, el clarinete bajo, la flauta y el piano. Anteriormente se creía que Rivers había nacido en 1930.

El padre de Rivers era un músico de gospel que había cantado con los Fisk Jubilee Singers y el Silverstone Quartet, exponiendo a Rivers a la música desde una edad temprana.

Rivers se trasladó a Boston (Massachusetts) en 1947, donde estudió en el Conservatorio de Boston con Alan Hovhaness. Actuó con Quincy Jones, Herb Pomeroy, Tadd Dameron y otros.

En 1959, Rivers empezó a tocar con Tony Williams, un batería de 13 años que más tarde desarrollaría una impresionante carrera. Rivers tocó brevemente con el quinteto de Miles Davis en 1964, en parte por recomendación de Williams. Este quinteto se grabó en un único álbum, Miles in Tokyo. Desgraciadamente, el estilo de Rivers era demasiado libre para ser compatible con la música de Davis, y pronto fue sustituido por Wayne Shorter. Rivers fichó por Blue Note Records, para la que grabó cuatro álbumes como líder e hizo varias apariciones como músico de acompañamiento. Entre los músicos de su propio sello Blue Note Records destacan Jaki Byard, que aparece en Fuschia Swing Song, Herbie Hancock y Freddie Hubbard. Apareció en grabaciones de Blue Note de Tony Williams, Andrew Hill y Larry Young.

La música de Rivers está enraizada en el bebop, pero es un intérprete aventurero, adepto al free jazz. El primero de sus álbumes para Blue Note, Fuchsia Swing Song, se considera una obra maestra de un enfoque que a veces se denomina "inside-outside". Con frecuencia, el intérprete borra el marco armónico explícito ("salir fuera"), pero conserva un vínculo oculto para poder volver a él de forma fluida. En este proceso, Rivers llevó a un nuevo nivel las herramientas conceptuales de la armonía bebop, unidas en todo momento a la capacidad de "contar una historia" que Lester Young había establecido como referencia para el improvisador de jazz.

Sus dotes de compositor también se pusieron de manifiesto en este periodo: la balada "Beatrice" de Fuchsia Swing Song se ha convertido en un estándar importante, sobre todo para los saxofonistas tenores. Mark Levine la analiza detalladamente en The Jazz Theory Book, donde observa cómo cada uno de sus cuatro elementos de ocho compases tiene una identidad emocional distinta.

Durante la década de 1970, Rivers y su mujer, Bea, dirigieron un conocido estudio de jazz llamado Studio Rivbea en el distrito NoHo de Nueva York. ¡Siguió grabando para diversos sellos, incluidos dos álbumes para Impulse! (Trio Live y su primer disco para big band, Crystals); sin embargo, quizá su trabajo más conocido de este periodo sea su aparición como acompañante en Conference of the Birds, de Dave Holland, en compañía de Anthony Braxton y Barry Altschul.

Rivers vive actualmente cerca de Orlando, Florida. Actúa regularmente con su trío (con Anthony Cole y Doug Matthews). En 1998 grabó dos álbumes de big band para RCA Victor con la RivBea All-Star Orchestra, Culmination e Inspiration (la canción que da título al disco es una elaborada versión de "Tanga" de Dizzy Gillespie): Rivers formó parte de la banda de Gillespie casi al final de la vida del trompetista). Otros álbumes recientes son Portrait, en solitario para FMP, y Vista, un trío con los baterías Adam Rudolph y Harris Eisenstadt para Meta.

En 2006, publicó Aurora, un tercer CD con composiciones para su Orquesta Rivbea y el primer CD con miembros de su orquesta de trabajo en Orlando.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/sam-rivers/

redrecords.it ...

Tracks:
1 - Expectation    6:35
2 - Vision    12:20
3 - Judgement    10:12
4 - Hope    6:55


Credits:
    Art Direction – Marco Pennisi
    Bass – Dave Holland
    Drums – Barry Altschul
    Executive-Producer – Marco Pennisi
    Liner Notes – Marco Giorgi
    Liner Notes [English Translation] – Luca Bonafede
    Photography By [Booklet] – Elena Carminati
    Photography By [Cover] – Mirko Boscolo*
    Photography By [Inlay] – Carlo Verri
    Producer [First Edition Produced By] – Alberto Alberti, Sergio Veschi
    Remastered By – Rinaldo Donati
    Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Piano – Sam Rivers
    Transferred By [Restoration And Digital Transfer] – Alessandro Cutolo

Recorded on March 12, 1976 (original release has also March 13)
Recorded At – Studio 7, Milano

Label:    Red Record – RR 123106-2
Format:
CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country:    Italy
Released:    3 abr 2023
Genre:    Jazz
Style:    Free Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/26736710-Sam-Rivers-The-Quest